Phoenician–Punic literature

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/phoenician-punic-literature

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the language family?Semitic languages, specifically Phoenician and its descendant, Punic
2. Why is it difficult to know what Phoenician–Punic books were about?Very few original books survive. Most of what we know comes from short inscriptions or from Greek and Latin writers who translated or quoted them.
3. What kinds of evidence do we have for Phoenician–Punic writing?We have inscriptions on stone, metal, and pottery, words on coins, and short fragments that were quoted by Greek and Latin authors.

Epigraphy: The study and interpretation of inscriptions on hard surfaces like stone or metal.
Numismatics: The study or collection of coins, currency, and medals.
Mediterranean: The large sea bordered by Europe, Africa, and Asia, central to ancient trade and culture.